Day 14

It’s wet and windy as we leave Belorado, no lights in the sky but as luck would have it we had a pilgrim in front of us with a light on his forehead, not that he had reached nirvana, it was just a torch, so we followed him, the early morning star. At least it was cool walking through the ubiquitous fields of wheat, the third village two hours out fed us with enough tortilla to get us up the first hill and forest of oak trees, their new buds cringing before the wind and the rain; the croissant got us up the second hill and pine forest while the coffee poured us through the thick mud. Along the way we met an Aussie whose brother in law has had Parkinsons for twenty five years, I’m hoping he finds  his way onto my blog. Six hours and we were guests in a hotel in St Juan.

While this is our second hotel we have also stayed in Albergues in dormitory accommodation for as little as five euros, it’s difficult if you’re not carrying your own pack but so far so good, we double the one supplied blanket and one night dressed for the next day and slept warmly ready to go. We have stayed in private rooms in Albergues for around twenty euros which was similar to an hostel. Normally pilgrims who stay in these places carry their own packs so they just stop when they have had enough, we book our accommodation each night so we have to stay there, and we ring a man to come and collect our bags in the morning. So far it has run smoothly. As for day time Corrie carries a small pack with some first aid, nibbles, gloves and rain pants, while I carry a litre of water, that works also.

Like states in Australia we pass through regions in Spain. We began in the French Basque Pyrenees and crossed soon after into the Spanish Basque Pyrenees. While some of the older generations want independence from Spain most now want to stay with Spain. The Basque are unique in that they are the oldest ethnic group in Europe. We then moved into Navarra where it is famous for entertaining Ernest Hemingway on holidays, he also wrote a novel or two there, and it is infamous for the ‘running of the bulls’. Now we are completing the last leg of the region of La Rioja, world famous for its wines.

Photos include a cave in a rock face which was a hermitage in the 12th century, and an oak forest.